The Rise
by 2201shotgun
Summary: The story of an average guy who is transported to the world of Skyrim where he takes up position as a smith's apprentice and, when Skyrim needs him, perhaps something more. self-insert fic', rated T for swearing and violence. more info in chapter 1 summary.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the elder scrolls, only the OCs that I'll inevitably make.

Welcome to the first chapter of The Rise, I have a plan for this whole story but I'm open to suggestions; I'll try to upload a chapter as often as I can. If you like this (or even if you don't) review and give suggestions, they'll really help me.

Oh and a little note: **Bold means speaking in dragon tongue**

_Italic means thoughts_

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I stared intensely at the screen of my TV, the only light source in my almost pitch black room. I was playing Skyrim on my Xbox and I had just gotten myself killed by a bandit. "Ugh, it's been too long since I've played this game, I'm losing my skills." I laughed quietly to myself, _what skills?_ I loaded up a previous save file only to find it had saved at the point of death, I'd lose hours of progress, _damn it._ I got slowly more and more frustrated with the game as I tried to survive. I failed, a lot.

My anger reached a level I had never experienced by playing a game before, and I've played dark souls, I roared in rage and punched the screen. My hand didn't hit the screen and stop, it just seemed to fall through and I had put too much momentum into this punch so I fell through. Everything went black.

A sensation of falling overtook me until my eyes snapped open. My surroundings shocked me more than anything before in my life. I was in a cart moving slowly down a cobbled road the scent of a forest filled my nose and a chill swept through my body, as if I wasn't wearing my jumper anymore. I looked around to notice someone I recognised. "Ralof? No, that can't be right," he looked at me with confusion evident in his eyes.

"Do I know you, Breton?" _wait, Breton? Well, I'm in Skyrim then._

I was lost in thought when Ralof coughed to get my attention, _oh right, he asked me a question._ "My apologies, I was lost in thought. In response to your question, no you don't know me, but I know you." That confused him but he seemed to accept it. We weren't near Helgen which means I woke up early. The rest of the cart ride was uneventful. We reached Helgen and were shepherded off the cart. One by one they called our names until it was only me left.

Now I assumed that I couldn't exactly make myself into an orc so I was just going to have to pass for a Breton. Hadvar asked my name, _perfect a chance to give myself an awesome name like in the movies_ "my name is Aidan." _fuck. I panicked._ That opportunity flew away quickly.

After that we were moved to the chopping block. The red-headed Nord barged his way to a quick death and I was called upon next. _What if the Alduin doesn't attack? I could die here_. I was pushed forward by one of the imperials and made to walk to the block. My head was pushed onto the block and I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid, but I tried to reassure myself, _it's ok, he won't kill you but Alduin probably will If you don't get your arse in gear_,_ oh thanks brain. _

Right on cue Alduin dropped from the sky and landed on the tower before shouting and calling forth a meteor storm and knocking me off the block. I picked myself up and ran to the tower with Ralof, It was damp and smelt bad but at least it wasn't on fire. "We have to get out of here!" _I gathered that already, Ralof._ I climbed through the tower slowly, aware of what was fated to happen on the second floor. I stopped Ralof as we neared the floor and confusion was evident on his face; that was until Alduin punched his head through the wall of the tower and breathed flames upon the unlucky Nords trying to clear the rubble. "You have to jump Aidan, we'll catch up when we can." _well, here goes nothing._ I took a few steps back before running and jumping across into the inn, landing on my feet heavily and falling to my knees, _damn that hurt, next time roll you moron_. I proceeded to make my way down to the ground floor.

I spotted Hadvar and ran to him while he convinced a child to avoid a slow fiery death, quite easy really. "Still alive prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way." I followed him through Helgen until we reached the entrance to the keep where I immediately sided with Ralof, the Stormcloaks didn't just try to kill me after all, and we entered the keep.

Inside all was quiet and I thanked the, now very real, gods for the silence to calm down and gather my thoughts. I was in Skyrim, a game, and have been placed in the position of the Dragonborn most likely meaning I have the ability to learn shouts. However cool that may be, now is not the time to dwell on such things, first I must make it to Riverwood and I can figure things out in relative safety. I take the gear off a fallen Stormcloak and luckily it fits me. I picked up the axe and swung it about, it was too heavy for me and I felt that I would be useless in the upcoming fight. I asked Ralof if I could swap for his dagger and he agreed; this felt much better and I was certain I could do at least minor damage with this iron dagger. However what works well in theory doesn't always work well in practice. Luckily I didn't have to wait long to test my abilities.

The gate to my left sunk into the floor rather loudly and shocked me; I immediately drew my dagger and prepared myself for battle. My dagger would have little effect against their armour so I used Ralof's aggressiveness to move behind the two imperials and plunged my dagger into the captain's neck, killing her instantly. The ease of which the blade passed through her throat sickened me, I sickened me. I had never even been in a fight before and here I was, stabbing someone in the neck. I removed my blade from her neck and, looking to my right, saw that Ralof had dispatched of the other imperial. The sight of the blood surrounding the bodies and the sensation of stabbing someone in the neck was too much for my stomach to handle and my breakfast left my stomach in a hurry. I wiped my nose and mouth with the rags I was wearing previously. Ralof merely looked at me and said "First time?" I nodded and suggested Ralof check the captain for a key while I took a second dagger, this one made of steel, and cleaned off my first on the rags.

The clothes that the second imperial was wearing, I remembered from playing the game, had a higher armour rating than the cuirass and fur boots I was currently wearing so I took some time to change into those. We left the room shortly after I followed the corridor the imperials came from to acquire an iron sword, which was much lighter than the axe so I felt I could wield it sufficiently enough to deal damage.

I followed Ralof through the damp tunnel and after a few moments the tunnel in front of us collapsed due to Alduin's rage. "Shh, voices, two inside Ralof we need to be quiet." He nods before we creep inside, I hand Ralof the iron dagger while I stick to the steel one. I close the door quietly behind us and move to the wall on the right, motioning for Ralof to follow. The voices were right around the corner and I counted down on my fingers to ambush them. Ralof charged with a battle cry that made me glad I was on his side and I, again, slip behind the heavily armoured one and end his existence, the sickening feeling was still there, though less strong and I believed I could keep the rest of my food down. I looked to Ralof and saw him end the second guard with a swift slice across his neck. "you should take some potions, we'll need them later if there's more guards" I nod and found a few potions around the room, I also ate part of a loaf of bread and washed it down with the wine on the table, it was disgusting but I guess I'd have to learn to like it. I placed the potions in the loops of the belt on the armour, it'd have to do for now. We proceeded down more corridors until we came upon a torture room. Sounds of fighting could be heard and I knew there was no chance of sneaking so I drew my iron sword and prepared myself.

The first man I encountered, the assistant, wielded a mace and was too slow in his swings. I easily dodged his attacks while slicing my sword through the imperial amour, fights seem to hold a sort of grace to them as I nimbly danced past his attacks and landed several attacks around his body. He eventually succumbed to his wounds. The second man I fought was tougher and it was a more memorable fight as it was my first encounter with a magic user. He wielded a sword in one hand and a sparks spell in the other. Our swords collided and before I could try to move around he unleashed his spell and the electricity flowed through my body. I fell to my knees and I saw the smug look on his face as he moved in for the kill. Pain and fear was all I felt in those moments and right before he swung his sword a stormcloak soldier landed a blow to his head with a Warhammer. I had never been happier to see someone's skull crushed. The soldier, who I noticed was a girl, helped me to my feet and asked if I could walk and I nodded, not trusting my words.

After some time I took to relax myself after the near death situation I looked around the room, finding a shield that I put on to defend myself against attacks that I couldn't dodge. I also found a bag to wear so I could carry some supplies like the bread I found earlier that I hadn't finished and the potions, _damn, you could've used one after the shock attack to help the healing process, oh thanks captain hindsight, twat. _There were a few lock picks in the pack along with some apples, I took the picks and slipped them under my left bracer but left one out to pick the lock on the cell with a dead mage in it. I had seen a few videos on lock picking so I knew the basics and 2 broken lock picks later the door was open. I took the mage's clothes and put the hood on but kept it down, in case it rained, and the robes I folded up and put in my pack, they were too big but I could use them in enchanting or could sell them if I needed money. What really interested me was the spell book by his side, _the gold was cool too you know, that was obvious you idiot._ The spell book said that it was easy to harness your magical abilities; all you had to do was find the energy in your mind and then will it to do what you want. In this case I had to will it to turn itself into electricity which I could then propel into enemies. I tried what it said and surprisingly it worked I put the book in the pack and after a few strange looks from the Stormcloaks we moved on.

Further down the tunnels was a room filled with imperials, _this is going to be tough_, I told the two other Stormcloaks to follow the stairs to the right and fight the imperials on the lower level before circling back around to trap the other imperials me and Ralof would fight in a sort-of pincer move. The Stormcloaks quickly agreed after commenting on the strength of the plan. I placed my shield on my back and readied my sparks spell in its place. We charged and executed my plan swiftly, with the two Stormcloaks taking down any resistance to their sweep. Ralof charged in and started hacking away at any imperial who dared to come close. I unleashed my sparks spell at the imperials that were further away, I managed to keep the spell up for a few seconds before it stopped, _magicka reserves must be empty,_ I picked my shield off of my back and charged into the fray. Two soldiers lie dead at Ralof's feet and a third was soon to join them. I ran in and stabbed the soldier through the neck,_ that makes three then,_ I pulled my sword out before charging the soldier who I had hit with the sparks. He was still on his knees when I reached him and I ended his suffering with a quick stab to the neck. I turned to follow the path and attack the final few soldiers when an arrow pierced my thigh. The pain was excruciating and I was sent tumbling to the ground. A soldier ran over to me and was about to end my life but I raised my shield and it took the brunt of the attack. Before the soldier could swing again my sword pierced his stomach, he looked down, a mix of rage and pain filled his eyes before sorrow etched itself upon his face. His arms fell limp and his weapon clattered to the ground, I managed to push him off of me, my sword still embedded in his stomach.

I sat myself up without moving my legs, so as to not provoke any more pain from the arrow wound. I looked around, the soldiers were dead and the Stormcloaks were converging on me. Ralof was the first to reach me and asked if I was ok and asked how many fingers he was holding up. I asked if he was counting his thumb too and he slapped me "Now is no time for games! We need to remove this, it's going to hurt and then we'll bandage you up, you'll have to sit out of any fights and we'll get you a healer in Riverwood." I shook my head; we'd need every person able to fight. If magic was simply willing your magical energy to do what you want then maybe I wouldn't need a book to learn a spell I wanted_, worth a shot, go for it._ That was about as encouraging as my mind could get so I began willing my energy into both hands and commanded it to heal. After a few tense moments of nothing happening my hands lit up with two golden orbs in them.

"Yes! I am the master! Nothing can stop me now!" my joyous cries were stopped by the throbbing pain in my leg and a reminder from my brain,_ except arrows, then you're screwed._ "Ralof, you need to pull the arrow out and then I can heal the wound and carry on fighting." He nodded and instructed the other Stormcloaks to fetch something to bite down on to, and I quote 'stop him for screaming like a new-born babe' _real encouraging from the guy you're about to let pull an arrow out of your leg_. They were also told to get a bowl of water to wash out the wound before I heal it.

The returned quickly enough and the bowl of water was placed by my thigh and something was put in my mouth to bite on. The female Stormcloak soldier placed her hands on my shoulder and asked if I were ready, it was nice to know that even though we had only met they cared quite a bit for me, well that's what I though anyway, turns out she was doing to that to stop me from moving around while the arrow is pulled out, now that's not to say they didn't care, they wouldn't be helping me if that were the case, but they just didn't care as much as I'd like to think. I nodded to signal them to pull the arrow loose. Ralof began by snapping the arrowhead off; this was when it started to get painful as he proceeded to pull out the arrow shaft quite quickly. I was sure my screams of pain could be heard throughout the keep. The bowl of water was poured onto the wound and I began to heal myself. The hole began to close, the sensation was strange and it itched having your skin grow that fast. After a few seconds the wound closed and all that was left was a circular scar "something to remember, eh?" Ralof stated with a smile, I punched him in the arm before thanking him and the others for helping me. I stood up and tested my leg, it was perfectly fine! It was amazing what magic could do, I'd definitely have to spend some time in Winterhold. I picked up a bow and a quiver full of arrows, I had done some archery a couple years back, I wasn't great but I wasn't terrible either. The quiver fit nicely between my back and the pack and I kept the bow between the quiver and pack with the string going diagonally across my torso.

There was a bridge through a passageway that would eventually lead to the exit. The two Stormcloak soldiers, who I found out, were called Mary and Hort said they would stay and wait for Ulfric. I knew that the bridge would collapse after we crossed it and there was a chance that they would die down here, I wasn't about to let that happen,_ but how are you going to convince them to come with you without revealing what you are to them?_, that was something I'd have to work out. After a few minutes of compiling arguments I decided just to tell them that they would die down here if they didn't leave and that Ulfric would find a way out,_ at least I hoped he would,_ after some time spent talking amongst themselves they decided to join us and we walked across the bridge together. After we crossed the bridge it collapsed, just like I knew it would, the sound was deafening but we moved on after Mary and Hort told us how glad they were to decide to follow us.

We entered the cave that the keep attached to and I spotted a coin purse near a skeleton,_ he won't be needing that, _I fastened it to my belt before continuing with the group. We came to an opening and I stopped everyone, I remember this part, frostbite spiders. I mentioned it to the group and they seemed to shudder slightly before readying their weapons. I readied my bow and moved forward cautiously.

I crouched down before nocking an arrow and sending into the first spider I saw, the shot caught him unaware and killed him instantly, the group charged in with their weapons while I stayed back, _I hate spiders,_ I launched a few more arrows, missing a few and only managing to injure those I hit. After a few moments the battle was over with us as the victors. I retrieved as many arrows as I could but most were broken or broke when I tried to pull them out.

We carried on down a side path and I told everyone to crouch down, my excuse was that I could see bear tracks, I was lying, this was just to make sure they didn't wake the bear before we could kill it we moved slowly until the bear was in view. I took a coin purse from a wheelbarrow of wine and put it in my pack, I'd transfer the gold later as it'd be quite noisy. Everyone readied their bows and nocked an arrow and on my mark we fired, the bear died before it could stand. I drew my dagger and moved closer, I removed the arrows from its hide and added the unbroken to my quiver, and then I made an incision along its stomach and began to remove the bear's hide. I rolled the skin up and placed it in my pack to use later for armour. I then removed the bear's claws for use in alchemy but I only managed to remove three whole claws as the rest broke.

We carried on through the tunnel and down a ledge where I spotted a chest with a coin purse and a few extra healing potions. We exited the cave and I breathed in the fresh air before being tackled to the ground as Alduin swooped overhead. "It's ok, he's gone now, and you can get off of me before I suffocate." I was helped up and we began our decent towards Riverwood. The path was long and winding but we eventually reached the standing stones. I'd wanted to see these since I first got sucked in the game. And I had already made my choice; the mage stone. I touched the stone and a strange feeling flowed through my body as a light shot into the sky. I felt, smarter? I couldn't really put my finger on it but something was different and I knew I would be able to learn magic faster than others now. The rest of the path was uneventful except for a few wolves which were dispatched quickly. I skinned the wolves and added their pelts to my pack and we reached Riverwood soon after. I'd say the journey took about an hour and I finished off the bread in my pack as we entered the town. I made it.

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Wow. First chapter done, that was really fun to write and I'm going to enjoy writing the rest of it and showing you the story of my character. As I said before I'd love you guys to review and point out any mistakes I made or just give suggestions for the story. I guess that's it for now, see you guys next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome to the second chapter of The Rise if you're reading this then you must have read the first chapter (thanks) I hope you enjoy this one as much as the first.

Disclaimer: the only thing I own related to Bethesda is my copy of Skyrim.

I made it. I had survived a dragon attack and escaped my execution and now it was time to meet all the game characters I knew and have some fun helping people and doing whatever, I was in Skyrim and I was free. But first things first, I was tired and my face was covered in dirt. I took my helmet of and walked over to the river flowing through town. I scooped up some water and splashed it in my face to remove the grime from the cave; it also kept me awake, for now. I took a moment to look at my reflection, my brown hair didn't go much further than my ears in length and was swept to the left to keep out of my eyes, it had gotten rather greasy from the cave and I knew I'd have to have a bath soon. My face had a few cuts and bruises but was otherwise clean. My eyes were different, they were still the same colour, brown, but there was something odd about it, I seemed older and, what was that? Fear, maybe, was present in my eyes, it was strange and I hoped it would go soon.

I kept my helmet off as I walked towards the mill where Gerdur worked, following Ralof and his friends who were talking about the war or something similar. When Gerdur saw us she seemed shocked but happy to see her friends, what shocked her most was probably the fact that I was wearing imperial armour, _gonna need to get new armour, anything but this._ Gerdur asked if it was safe for them to be here and Ralof told her it was fine and then recounted our tale of escape from Helgen and a dragon, Gerdur said it was ok for us to stay at her house for as long as we needed, I thanked her but said that I would stay at the inn, I had the money for it now anyway. Mary and Hort said that they would be leaving for Windhelm in a few days. Gerdur said that I should go to Whiterun and inform the jarl an ask for some guards to be stationed in Riverood I said I would go in a few days to allow myself some time to recuperate after what happened.

I left to find the blacksmith after Gerdur gave me some food for my dinner. I reached the blacksmith and asked if he needed any help around the forge, he said he needed and iron dagger made and gave me the materials. I had never smithed before so I needed some help but after a few hours I had an iron dagger made. I was proud of myself but Alvor, the blacksmith, said it was a little dull and said I should sharpen it at the grindstone. This actually didn't require any ingots and after about 10 minutes it was sharp enough to cut something. I gave him the dagger and Alvor commented on the quality of it, saying it was very good for a beginner. He said that if I didn't have anything to do I could keep helping him by tanning some leather. This was a long process. I started by hanging up a deer pelt and removing the fur with my new iron dagger. I then had to wash it in a strange liquid that Alvor said sped up the tanning process, I then had to leave the pelt there for a day or two before it was ready to be used but I would have to wash it in the liquid daily. He then handed me some already tanned leather and asked me to make him a hide helmet. I cut some leather into strips on a table and cut some bigger sections of leather to be the actual parts of the helmet. After an hour of threading the thin strips through the larger pieces of leather and adding some iron reinforcements the helmet was complete. Alvor said it was good but could be improved to fit better. I took some leather to the workbench and lengthened or shortened the strips to make the helmet fit better. It took only a few minutes, 15 at most, and I handed him the helmet. "I'll have to make you my assistant at this rate" he joked and I thought about it for a second, _there's less danger than fighting dragons, you'll have a reliable source of income and you won't have to keep travelling, this could be really good._

"Would a position be open here? I haven't got a job right now and I could use the money, plus the experience would be great."

He seemed to think my offer over for a second before saying "Actually there is, my wife is with child and is nearing the end of her pregnancy and I will be needed more around the house which is giving me less time around the forge, I could certainly use an assistant. You're hired." I smiled and thanked him before discussing the terms: I'd be paid 100 gold septims per day that I work and I don't have to work on Sundas. I left to sell off spare goods to the general trader and came out with a few extra septims, I then bought a room at the inn, had my dinner and fell asleep.

I woke up around seven in the morning which was good as my job didn't start until eight. I had a quick breakfast of bread and cheese washed down with a tankard of water I got dressed. Not in my armour but some green clothes with a hood that I had bought at Lucan's shop last night. I left my armour in my room but kept my sword strapped on. I paid for an extra day at the inn to keep my armour there and for a place to sleep tonight. It was raining when I got outside; I put my hood up and walked over to the forge where Alvor was waiting. "Ah, welcome to your first day on the job, we've got an order to fill and I'd like you to fill it, with my supervision, of course." _Great my first job already! I can't wait._

"Ok what would you have me do?" I tried to mask my excitement but it managed to slip through slightly

"we have to make a full set of iron armour for an adventurer that came through today, he said he'd be back in a week so there isn't much of a rush to make but I'd like it done early seeing as there isn't much else to tend to right now. We'll start with the boots first"

Two hours later the boots were made, they took so long as the metal kept cooling before I was finished hammering it into shape. The next part we'd be making were the gloves which were much easier as it was only the top of the gloves that had the iron on. I finished the gloves within the hour and moved onto the helmet. While I was forging the iron Alvor was busy either sharpening the weapons or giving me advice on what I was doing. 3 hours later the helmet was finished, the intricacies and shapes of the helmet meant that it took a long time to shape the iron how I needed it,_ the eye holes where the worst to make_, but I was finished and Alvor said we should take a break and have lunch. I was incredibly hungry and had a venison chop in some bread and washed it down with some water. We returned to work after about half an hour and set about making the armour. This was the most difficult as it had many different shapes and connecting pieces. After 5 long hours of working and taking few breaks the armour was done. I was pleased with myself and proud of my work; it would definitely stop a sword thrust to the chest and could save this adventurer's life. After all this work Alvor paid me and said I could have the rest of the day to myself. I had earned it.

I had my dinner and started walking around town, it wasn't much but I was used to living in a small town so it wasn't much of a difference. I met with Faendal and had a chat about nothing in particular until he came onto the topic of Camilla, he asked me to give a fake letter to her and tell her it was from Sven to which my response was simply "grow up, twat." I walked away soon after, I guessed I had made an enemy but as it turned out he took my advice and threw the letter away and said that he would try to win Camilla the right way and not with sneaky underhanded tactics. I walked off to the tavern and fell asleep soon after arriving.

The following morning was calm and peaceful, _just how we like it,_ after breakfast I left the inn to go to work. I spent most of the day making and sharpening weapons, it was repetitive but kept me interested. Believe it or not but spending time making weapons gave me a better understanding of how they worked and the best way to use them and how to exploit their flaws. This was getting fun; I'd definitely be a better fighter after this.

Work continued as usual for several months I had amassed a decent amount of septims and had learned a few new spells from Lucan's shop. I had made myself some leather armour, boots, and gauntlets for my upcoming trip. I was going to Winterhold. I thanked Alvor for his kindness and his lessons in smithing, I joked that the gold wasn't bad either, but eventually I'd have to leave and so the college is my destination, to learn about magic and better prepare myself for life in this harsh land.

As I walked out of the road leading to Whiterun I remembered my first trip. It was on a day much like this one a few months back when I went to inform the jarl of the danger to his hold. The walk was wonderfully quiet and peaceful, as much of Skyrim I had seen had been, a wolf attacked me but I quickly dispatched it with my new steel sword that I had only just forged a few days back, its first taste of battle, I carried on walking afterwards, passing a few farms on the way until I saw a giant attacking what could only be the companions. I rushed over and started hacking at the back of its legs. It didn't do much. The giant only seemed to get madder and I decided that there was no way I was going to kill it with my sword so I backed up and charged a fireball spell. I had used it before, just not on anything living so it was more difficult to aim it right, but after a few shots and the companions constant harrying of its legs it fell to its knees where the companions could reach its head. Last mistake it ever made. The companions commented on my skills with magic and suggested I go to the college; at least they weren't as magic fearing and most nords. I thanked them for the compliment and moved on.

At the gate the guard stopped me saying that the city was closed, he let me in after I told him Riverwood was in danger too. I made my way up to Dragonsreach and entered then continued to walk to the throne before Irileth drew her sword and stopped me, I said I had news for the jarl concerning Riverwood's safety she didn't look convinced so I said that it also concerned the dragon attack on Helgen, she was shocked that I knew about it but let me through to see the jarl. I told him about Riverwood's plight and he said that he would send some guards at once I thanked him and made to leave. He stopped me and said that he might have a task for me, _we don't want to get involved in that,_ I stopped him mid-sentence "sorry, my jarl, but I'm no adventurer and I can't help Farengar in his scheme." He seemed baffled that I knew some things that I probably shouldn't,_ whoops;_ I walked away after the jarl composed himself. I returned home to Riverwood shortly after and went about my daily business.

Before I knew it had made it to Whiterun and gazed upon it for the second time, I'd never tire of such a sight. I made my way to the carriage driver and asked how much it would cost to take me to winterhold, he said fifty septims and I said I'd pay. He remarked at how lucky I was as someone else had also bought passage to winterhold, I had just caught them before they would've left._ That's odd, there shouldn't be anyone else on these, there never was in the game_. I brushed the thought aside, people would use these as they were actual people and not A.I. stuck in a certain area.

I looked over to the person opposite me; he was male and a wood elf from the looks of it, he had a softer, rounder face than most elves though it was still sharper than most humans', he had an earthy brown hair colour and his hair was long but tied in a piece of cloth behind his head, he had a beard that was knotted on itself and green eyes that I noticed were staring at me. "What are you looking at? Do I have a spider on me? Is it big? Do I have to burn it? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I trusted you random person, I trusted you!" I couldn't tell if he was being genuine and if he was he was probably slightly mad, _just how I like people_, I tried to calm him down by saying I was merely trying to see what he looked like; he calmed down and introduced himself, his name was Valarion. We carried on talking on the way to winterhold; we discussed magic, as he was also heading to the college to study magic. He said that he used to have family in winterhold but they moved away after the great collapse. He asked about my family, I simply said I didn't have one.

The journey to winterhold was uneventful; me and Valarion talked more about whatever popped into our heads. The weather got slowly colder and I was glad I was wearing more than one layer. Soon we reached winterhold and we stepped off the cart. The college was huge and I couldn't stop the growing smile on my face as I raced Valarion to the entrance.

Well that's chapter two then, leave a review if you want and tell me what you liked and what I could do better, I'm new to this and I'm open to suggestions. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome to the third chapter of the rise I don't really know what to put here so let's begin shall we?

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Me and Valarion where neck and neck in our race to the college, but the entryway was only one person wide. We were scrambling over each other and Faralda, the high elf guarding the gate, was visibly alarmed and was preparing a fireball attack. To prevent us being singed I let Valarion go and he won the 'race', he told Faralda that he wanted to join the college and she told him that a test was necessary; he had to cast a fireball on the seal that was on the floor. He did so with ease and began to walk forward before turning around and sticking his tongue out at me,_ if Faralda wasn't in front of us he'd get to see our middle finger,_ I told Faralda that I also wanted to join; she asked that I conjure a wolf on the seal. I didn't know that spell. I told her that I couldn't and she said I could buy it for thirty septims; I quickly agreed and cast the spell on the seal. A haunting howl filled the air as a spectral wolf appeared from the seal,_ he's kinda cool, let's name him Reginald. _Faralda told us to follow her, but I had a question for her.

"I believe I may have some sort of talent with learning spells, a while back I had an arrow in my leg, just above the knee, and I managed to use a healing spell even though I had never seen a healing book, is that weird?"

"No, I'm sorry to remove any trace of being special but anyone and everyone has the ability to call upon basic healing and fire magic at least, although most don't know it. What you did was perfectly normal." I was saddened but I perked up quickly, I had a new friend and I'm probably dragonborn so it's all good. We carried on walking to the entrance over the long path. Valarion looked over the walkway and whitened visibly, I guess he didn't have much of a stomach for heights, he kept chanting 'Don't look down. Don't look down' _yeah, definitely afraid of heights. _

We reached the gate to the college grounds quickly enough and it opened on its own, Valarion looked fascinated while Faralda seemed to be, giggling? I guess it must be funny to see the wonder in people's eyes at this. For me it was nothing new, we had automatic doors everywhere back home. I carried on walking to where Mirabelle would be but Valarion was talking to Faralda, I could only catch the last of the conversation but I could hear her say "if you need anything don't hesitate to ask" she followed that up with a wink,_ looks like Valarion is making friends._ He jogged a bit to catch up with me and I asked what that was about, he said it was nothing to concern myself with,_ definitely made a friend._

When we reached Mirabelle, she was still talking to the Thalmor, Ancano, but she ended the conversation quickly with no room for Ancano to continue talking, well played, Mirabelle, well played. We approached Mirabelle and I introduced us. "Hello, Mirabelle, is assume? My name is Aidan and my friend here is Valarion, we're the new students and would be honoured if you would show us the facilities here at your college." I made myself sound polite but I never cared much for niceties "However there is one thing I must quickly take care of first." I walked over to Ancano. "Hi, Ancano, you don't know me but I know you and I know what you're up to, and I'd like to personally warn you that if you make a move against me, my friend or this college I will personally see you ripped apart by my own hands, are we clear?" I said that in the cheeriest voice I could muster to irritate him further than the speech alone would have. Ancano's brow furrowed and he began to raise his arms "Now, now Ancano you shouldn't take me for a novice, raising your fists towards me would be a very, very bad idea, you have no idea what I'm capable of," I moved in close to his ear "And you should be afraid, Ancano, very afraid." He lowered his arms slowly and I removed the malice from my words and finished with "Glad we straightened that out." I smiled and walked away. I expected what would happen next and prepared accordingly. Ancano launched an ice spear towards me, I saw Valarion's facial expression turn from a smirk, he had obviously heard my little chat with Ancano, to shock. That was all the warning I needed. I dropped into a crouch, allowing the spear to fly over me; I stuck out my leg and spun. I caught Ancano by surprise and tripped him over, my knee was on his chest and my hand was around his throat before he could blink. "What did I just say Ancano?" I slowly tightened my grip. Fear was evident in his eyes as my grip got tighter and tighter. I stopped tightening just before I would have stopped him breathing. "I warned you Ancano, and I made a promise. But I'd rather not have my first day at the college tainted with a murder and I suppose neither would you." He nodded as best he could and I slowly got off of him, I pulled him up and he quickly scurried away.

"You were going to take us on a tour, correct?"

"Yes I am, and between us he really deserved to be put in his place." I smiled and we started to take a tour. It was relatively straightforward and afterwards Mirabelle told us to go the hall of the elements to begin our teaching. We walked into the hall; it was enormous but sparsely decorated, the hall managed to keep out the cold, for which I was grateful. We entered the main classroom area and saw Tolfdir beginning the lesson.

He noticed us and beckoned us over, saying the lesson only just started. He continued his lesson after we took our places, he started saying that magic was dangerous and would take years to control, I stood there, complacent, while the others were in uproar about Tolfdir questioning their respective skills in magic. Tolfdir began calming them and asked me what I thought of the situation. "I feel that we should do something practical, however it should continue with the theme of safety, wards perhaps?" Tolfdir seemed to think it over for a moment before agreeing that it was a good course of action that would placate both parties. He asked me if I would help give the demonstration for the ward and I thanked him but declined, "Perhaps one of the others would be a better choice, they seem eager to prove themselves, as a matter of fact they could all set up wards and we could use a spell on them to see how well they hold up." Tolfdir thanked me for the assistance and said that it was a good idea, Valarion and the dark elf, Brelnya, were told to stand in front of me so that I could cast the spell on their wards while the khajiit and the nord stood opposite Tolfdir. They were told to set up wards and they did so after a few seconds. Now comes the fun part. I prepared two firebolts and launched them towards Valarion and Brelnya. Their wards held up and while the nord's held the khajiit's faltered slightly and singed his whiskers, the nord, Onmund, nearly fell over laughing and the khajiit, J'zargo, attacked him. It took all of us to pull them off each other. We all had a good laugh before we noticed it was getting late. Tolfdir told us to get some rest and that we would learn more tomorrow.

My room was ok and I was glad that I finally had a place of my own that I didn't have to pay for, I unpacked my bag into the drawers and wardrobes and left It on a spare chair before laying in my bed and falling asleep. The next day I was awoken by a ringing noise, I walked outside and so did all the other students before the majority of us realised we weren't dressed. After getting dressed the noise stopped, _must be some sort of alarm,_ I repeated that to the others and they all just stood there, confused, I corrected myself and said it was meant to wake us up, I heard Onmund say he would never get used to it,_ oh he will, it was daily back home and I'm guessing it's going to be daily here_. We all began to make our way to the hall of elements.

Our first lesson that day was more on wards and involved some more talking and some practice, I even had some firebolts flung at me, Valarion seemed way too pleased to be getting revenge for me throwing them at him yesterday. Our second lesson was taught by Faralda, which seemed to please Valarion, she began by asking us how proficient we were in destruction magic, there were varied answers and so she had some of us working on firebolt spells while others were laying runes and triggering them with a spell. The lessons lasted a few hours and lunch soon approached. We sat down in the dormitory and ate at a large table with food already on it. After lunch Tolfdir suggested we take a trip to some ancient nord ruins known as saarthal to examine ancient uses of magic,_ great we'll have to fight draugr._

The path to saarthal was cold, very cold, _don't forget steep as well,_ yeah and that. The stones of the path were rough underfoot and my cloth boots weren't doing much to keep the pain out and my robes weren't doing much in the way of heat conservation, lucky I have a fire spell, eh? The path was relatively straight and the walking was tedious with nothing but idle chat to tide us over until we made it to saarthal. There was a bear on the road but with a master wizard and five apprentices the bear didn't last long. We soon turned right off the path and up a hill to lead us to the ruins, we passed under and ancient nord arch and I knew we were on the right track. After about half an hour we made it to the entrance and Tolfdir unlocked it and ushered us in.

The smell. That was the first thing I noticed, it was… unpleasant to say the least but I guessed I'd have to get used to it. the next thing I noticed was that the Nords weren't much for health and safety, the paths were high, thin, and had no railings,_ Valarion is going to hate this,_ but I was thankful that this place had some heat to it. We made our way to the ground floor and Valarion seemed more at ease than a few minutes ago. Tolfdir asked us if we had any questions before we were to go off on our own to conduct experiments, after answering some questions he sent me and Valarion off to find enchanted items. We made our way to one of the teachers, whose name I forgot to ask, and asked him where he'd have us search. The teacher said that there was an entire section he had yet to search, we began immediately. I knew there was the amulet but I couldn't find it, I only managed to find a couple of rings before I heard Valarion cry out for help.

I ran as quickly as I could through the twisting maze, I found Valarion trapped behind a gate, clutching an amulet in his hand. Tolfdir looked baffled and honestly so was I, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen, I needed to be behind there,_ maybe he could be,_ no not Dragonborn, he wasn't at Helgen it can't be him, but perhaps he would be the Arch-mage only time would tell. "Valarion, this is gonna sound weird but you have to put the amulet on and cast a spell at the wall that held the amulet."

"What? Why? This doesn't make sense and I'm starting to panic."

"Trust me Valarion; there are some things that you'd be better off not knowing."

My answer stopped Valarion questioning me but he was definitely not content and I would have to answer more questions later. Valarion but the amulet on, cautiously, and then the wall resonated with the amulet and Valarion and began emitting a red aura. "It's now or never I guess." Were Valarion's last words before casting his spell, a fireball, towards the wall. Valarion nearly had a heart attack when the wall caved in under the force of the spell, the gate separating us fell into the floor and me and Tolfdir walked in before continuing on through the tunnel. We came to a closed off area with a few coffins, they smelled like there was definitely something dead in there, but the question was, were they going to stay dead?

Valarion seemed disappointed that there was only this room at the end of the secret tunnel,_ oh how wrong he is in thinking that,_ Tolfdir started wondering out loud, why was this here and why was it hidden? Things like that. That's when it happened, a slight jump, barely noticeable but certainly was there. Valarion was the first to speak "Did you guys see him?" so he noticed the jump to… wait did he say him? The Psijic monk? The one that the future Arch-mage is supposed to see? Well that spices things up a bit, doesn't it?

Right, think carefully about this, I can't just say, oh you mean the Psijic monk that only you saw indicating that you are to be the next Arch-mage, now can I? Right I guess, as with most strange situations like this, I'll just have to play dumb. "See what Valarion?" ok I guess that wasn't so bad, lying to one of my few friends in this world.

"You mean I only saw it? The monk, Psijic, he said he was." It would be so much easier if I could just tell him,_ no you dumbass you'll mess with the world if you reveal the future, you may have said too much as it is,_ fine, calm yourself brain. Tolfdir questioned him about the Psijic, apparently he said something about something being hidden in saarthal and that only Valarion and his closest friend could save the college. Valarion seemed like he was holding something back, something the Psijic said most likely, I'll have to try and get it out of him later if possible.

Tolfdir said we'll have to search deeper into saarthal to find this hidden thing but he said he had no clue where to search; there weren't any other places in saarthal to explore. That's when the coffins opened. Three draugr, three people, a bit unfair, they'd need more draugr. Tolfdir dispatched one draugr easily with a firebolt while Valarion did the same. I guess I like to mix it up a bit I used my steel sword, that I'd made a while back in Riverwood, mixed with a firebolt but there's more, my sword is enchanted, my blade pierced his stomach and left as quickly as it had entered and the draugr was set ablaze before my firebolt finished him. Over the months of making swords you get used to using them, I was quitter proficient and the enchantment came from the time I visited Whiterun.

With the fight over we saw that one of the coffins had a passage behind it, me and Valarion followed it eagerly while Tolfdir followed slowly, admiring the nord craftsmanship. A few more draugr later and me and Valarion were in a circular room with many coffins around the walls, Tolfdir was still far behind so when the gate closed and sealed us in Tolfdir was left out,_ shit_, "Valarion back-to-back now!" he did so without hesitation and the first few draugr emerged from their stone tombs. Valarion unleashed firebolts at any and all draugr in his range and made sure that once they hit the floor they would stay there, while I used a firebolt spell but kept my sword ready for any that came too close. The draugr were speaking in the dragon tongue, I knew one of their phrases 'dir volaan' I think and it means die quickly, pleasant huh? After ten minutes of fighting off more and more draugr they finally stopped and by stopped I mean we killed them all.

The gate blocking Tolfdir rose into its housing and allowed him to enter the room we were in. Tolfdir commented upon our fighting skills and said he would like to stay here and study while we go on ahead, we felt confident in our abilities,_ why shouldn't we be?_ and carried on after lowering the two spike barriers with pull chains. The way ahead was infested with draugr but we made quick work of those. There were a few close calls, I almost stepped on a rune and Valarion almost triggered a dart trap. We came upon a pillar puzzle with six different pillars. "There's got to be billions of combinations, we'll never figure it out" Valarion slumped over and looked like he had given up

"Well, the nords weren't exactly good at hiding there combinations, look above the pillars, I'll take the right side and you take the left." Valarion looked up and saw the correct face to be shown, he smiled, we quickly set puzzle and carried on.

What was past that gate was the strongest draugr I had faced so far, a Wight if I'm not mistaken, he was tough but with Valarion's firebolts and my slashing he fell to his knee where I ended him with a sword thrust into his skull. He had a few gold on him which was pretty cool, _a lot more that the regular draugr that's for sure_. We came upon another pillar puzzle soon after and Valarion went to work straight away, but when he reached for the lever I tackled him to the ground. "Hey! What's wrong with you?" I pointed to all the pillars that were facing the wrong way "But I set all of them right, what happened?" I picked him up before explaining

"Not all the pillars are that easy, these ones spin others, see?" I demonstrated, Valarion looked shocked but determination came across his face "Let's do this." Right we have to work this out methodically, I told Valarion to turn each pillar and I would number them in the order that he'd have to turn them. The first he turned moved two other pillars, number two I told him, the next turned none, number four, the next turned three, number one, the last turned one, number three. Valarion used that to set the pillars in the correct order and allowed him to open the gate.

As we were walking through Tolfdir caught up with us and we walked forward together, spells at the ready, just in case,_ we're gonna need it_. We opened some doors and made our way through a hall. That was when we saw it, the eye of Magnus. Well it was just a fascinating orb to them but I knew, and I couldn't let them know I knew. Then there was the draugr, Jyrik Gauldurson, very powerful and invulnerable until the ward around the eye is taken down, if I remember correctly. "Tolfdir, that draugr is very powerful, and until the ward around the eye, er orb is taken down we can't defeat him, so you need to work on that while me and Valarion distract him."

"Wait, I'm gonna be bait! Oh you're gonna pay for that Aidan." I smiled before running off the higher platform and landing, with a roll, in front of Jyrik I slashed my blade across his throat but it seemed to not even make contact, _bugger_, then he woke up. His glowing blue eyes shone fiercely at me and he grabbed me by the throat, he stood and I was lifted off the ground,_ and we're six foot so he's pretty tall_. He started to constrict and that was when a quick punch to my gut sucked all the air out of my lungs, everything started fading but luckily Valarion launched a few firebolts at him which distracted him long enough to make him drop me.

I fell to the ground, coughing and spluttering, gasping for breath. I finally got to my feet just as Tolfdir disabled the ward, I walked up to Jyrik as he began to corner Valarion, "Payback's a bitch, Jyrik." I slashed my blade with more force than I had thought possible and separated his head from his shoulders, his head fell to the floor with a satisfying thud, his body soon followed. Valarion was breathing heavily and thanked me but said he was just about to get the upper hand,_ sure you were_.

Tolfdir was staring at the eye with fascination plastered across his face, "Valarion, can you go back to the college and inform the Arch-mage of our finding, I'd go myself but I couldn't leave this alone." Valarion nodded and started jogging towards the exit. "These markings are unlike anything I've ever seen before they aren't dwemer, falmer, ayleid, not even daedric." Tolfdir was puzzled, well here goes nothing

"That's because these markings, at least I believe them to be, are Aedric in origin, what we're looking at is the eye of Magnus, and while I believe that the people of this world are not ready for it I doubt I could stop you or anyone else from taking it, I know that the college would merely study it, it is Ancano that I am truly worried about, I fear that he will try to abuse its raw magical power." Tolfdir was speechless at this revelation, he seemed to try and find the words to speak as they had clearly left him. He managed to say "for someone so young, you know so much; I will have many questions for you when we return." I nodded and beckoned him over to the exit that Valarion took, to find the word wall, "Dragon language, and if I'm right in my assumptions then…" I stepped forward and the energy shot into me, I smiled, I am Dragonborn. The word IIZ, or ice as I now understood it, engraved itself into my mind, my potential will be limitless one day, that I promise, and I always keep my promises.

Valarion P.O.V

I was running, fast, the cold wind was like a slap in the face but I didn't care, what we found was big and the Arch-mage needed to know about it as soon as possible. I readied a spell of my own, one that could enhance my muscles, I used it on my legs and I began to run faster and faster. The landscape passed by as a blur, and that was no doubt how the world saw me. Those who knew me would say I was childish and immature, but I just needed the right thing to focus on and magic was my true calling. I intend to be Arch-mage someday and I'm gonna beat Aidan to that title, speaking of him, what did that Psijic say? Something about a secret, a big one the way he was going on about it, and a potential in him, something big that I had to confront him about, when he gets back to the college, definitely.

I slowed down as I neared the city, don't want to spook the locals, ok maybe I do but I can't. I ran up to the bridge where Faralda was, ah Faralda, so beautiful but I could never approach her, she'd just reject me, like they always did. "I'd love to chat Faralda" I mean I'd really love to "But we found something big in saarthal and the Arch-mage needs to be informed" she nodded and stepped aside, was she blushing? No she couldn't be. I made my way inside and climbed the stairs to my left; I was out of breath at the top and had to rest for a moment.

"Arch-mage, sir, we found… something in saarthal, a big glowing orb that practically radiated magicka, I was told to inform you right away."

"Thank you for informing me Valarion was it?" I nodded "Right well you should go rest, it's late and you have to be up early tomorrow." I nodded and made my way to the rooms and laid down, I fell asleep instantly, that's the downside to the spell I used earlier, as soon as you stop, you're so tired that you just collapse.

Aidan P.O.V

"Are you sure we shouldn't help him?" Brelnya asked for the billionth time

"I'm sure, he said he could transport it with magic, he'd be back before us so just calm down and enjoy the night sky." And wasn't it beautiful the aurora was magnificent, words fail to capture its true splendour, the night sky was lit up like a thousand fireworks went off, it was much more beautiful than being back home, if I could even call that place home again, I've been here for just over half a year now and I feel much more at peace here than on earth.

It was late and we were glad when we got back to the college we fell asleep soon after, it had been a tough day, and it's gonna be weird tomorrow.

* * *

Well, that was the longest chapter I've made so far and I'm really pleased with it, I hope you guys, or girls, enjoy it. please review and tell me what you liked and what you didn't like so I can make it better for you and everyone else who reads this. Thanks

- Aidan


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